<p>Introduction</p> <p>THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list\nresulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last\napproximately one year but can be extended.\nSupplemental\nQuestionnaire:?A properly completed\nSupplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.\nApplications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the\nHuman Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.\nFailure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in\ndisqualification.\nApplications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted online.\nQualified\nbilingual persons who speak English and are also fluent in: Spanish, Chinese,\nVietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Korean, Mien, Tagalog, Amharic, Farsi, Dari,\nTigrigna, Russian, Romanian or Sign Languages are especially encouraged to\napply. There is an additional biweekly compensation for persons in positions\ndesignated bilingual.?Qualified\ncandidates may be tested to demonstrate language proficiency.\n</p> <p>DESCRIPTION</p> <p>THE COUNTY\nAlameda County, located on the east side of San\nFrancisco Bay, is California's seventh-largest county.? The County employs 9,700 full-time employees\nand operates on an annual budget of $3.4 billion.? Oakland, the County seat, is California's\neighth-largest city.? One and a half\nmillion people call Alameda County home and live in a variety of incorporated\ncities, unincorporated communities, and rural areas.? As a major urban county, Alameda provides a\nfull range of services to its citizens.\nThe County is a blend of culturally and ethnically diverse communities,\nand its mixture of cosmopolitan and suburban areas provides the perfect\nenvironment for families and their active lifestyles.? The County offers extensive cultural\nresources, countless recreational opportunities, and an array of fine public\nand private colleges and universities.?\n?\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n\nALAMEDA COUNTY HEALTH\nAlameda County Health is the local government\nagency that promotes and protects the health and well-being of all who live,\nwork, learn, and play in Alameda County. We coordinate services and cultivate\npartnerships with community organizations and providers to help ensure access,\norganize, and deliver health care and services to people with Medi-Cal and\nwithout insurance, support resilient communities, and improve health for all.\nWe focus on health equity by developing programs and systemic solutions that reduce\ndisparities for the people and communities we serve.\nAlameda County Health's departments and\nprograms focus on services and support that provide care for the whole person.\n\n The\n Behavioral Health Department provides mental health and substance use\n services for people with Medi-Cal and without insurance and supports\n people along their path to wellness, recovery, and resilience.\n The\n Environmental Health Department works to keep our air, water, and food\n safe; it regulates, protects, and promotes the health of everyone in\n Alameda County by enforcing environmental health codes to reduce exposure\n to toxins and diseases.\n The\n Public Health Department focuses on community and population-level health,\n preventing and addressing root causes of health inequity across a range of\n communicable and chronic diseases.\n Alameda\n County Health also provides services through Housing and Homelessness\n Services, Emergency Medical Services Agency, HealthPAC, and Healthy\n Schools and Communities.\n\n?\n\n \n\nBEHAVIORAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT\nAs part of Alameda County Health, the\nBehavioral Health Department supports people with Medi-Cal and without\ninsurance living with serious mental illness and substance use conditions along\ntheir path toward wellness, recovery, and resiliency. We provide services\nthrough a network of contracted mental health and substance use providers and\nadminister the State's resources and training for behavioral health providers,\ncase managers, and other healthcare professionals. We advocate for our patients\nand families and create space for personal engagement in their care.\nWe are outpatient specialists for mental health\nservices for older adults and youth, substance use providers and treatment\nprogram specialists, advocates for quality improvement and patients' rights,\nand psychiatric and integrated health care providers.\nFor more information about the Behavioral\nHealth Department, please visit?www.acbhcs.org.\nTHE\nPOSITION\nUnder general Under general direction, to\nprovide behavioral care services by telephone, face-to-face, and/or record\nreview for referral, treatment, and/or payment authorization and service\nintegration; to gather and analyze case history data and treatment plans; to\nmake treatment recommendations and to assess quality of care; to record all\nfindings and maintain review records; and to do related work as required.\nClinical Review Specialist positions are located in the Department of\nBehavioral Health Care Services ACCESS Program, Authorization Services and\nQuality Assurance. These positions provide a variety of clinical services\nincluding screenings and referrals, face to face assessments, review of medical\nnecessity for authorization of services, utilization review, assessment of\nquality of care, and provider consultation.\n\nThis is a journey level class, requiring a licensed professional, fully trained\nand professionally skilled upon entrance into the class. This position reports\nto a licensed clinical manager. Direct supervisory review and guidance is\nprovided only in selected cases. Clinical Review Specialists provide behavioral\ncare clinical assessment, clinical analysis, referral for treatment, treatment\nreview, and provider consultation involving considerable latitude and\nindependence of judgment. Incumbents in this class may lead and consult with\nother staff on clinical issues but do not have formal supervisory\nresponsibility.\n\nThe class is distinguished from Behavioral Health Clinician II, Clinical Psychologist\nand Clinical Nurse II positions in that incumbents usually perform tasks using\nindirect information but may use direct interactions to provide behavioral\nhealth screenings and referrals, level of care assessments, or clinical\ndirection to other licensed professionals and a large network of independent\npractitioners and organizations. This direction may include payment\nauthorization, resource utilization management, quality improvement, quality\nassurance and coordination of multiple funding sources to support treatment\nrequests.\n\n\nEXISTING\nVACANCIES:\nThe immediate vacancies are in the ACCESS\nProgram.?However,?please note that the eligible list resulting from\nthis recruitment and selection process may be utilized for other future\nvacancies which may arise throughout Alameda County within the next year.\n\nACCESS Program.??Clinical\nReview Specialists within the ACCESS Program serve as an initial?point of\npublic contact and provide telephone information, screening, assessment, and\nreferral services to the greater?Alameda County community.?The licensed\nclinicians at ACCESS generally?work in?a call center\nsetting,?hear concerns over the telephone, provide clinical screenings,\nand?make referrals to identified service providers within the County's\nnetwork who can best meet the specific needs of each individual client,\nincluding language and clinical needs.? An ACCESS Clinical Review\nSpecialist may also be placed in an alternative setting to provide face to face\nassessments and referrals. These positions authorize treatment; assess for\nlevel of care; maintain records; provide consultation concerning medical\nnecessity and utilization of system resources; and provide telephone crisis\nintervention services including arranging for emergency services when\nneeded.?There is one opening for the adult team and one for the child\nteam.\n\nUtilization Management Program?(formerly\nAuthorization Services).?Clinical Review Specialists within the\nUtilization Management Program provide daily case consultation and chart review\nto determine medically necessary treatment and appropriate utilization of\nsystem resources for both inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services\n(including both mental health and substance use disorder). The licensed\nclinician is expected to consistently assess level of care, treatment and\ndisposition plans based on cultural, developmental and age-related parameters;\nassure in each medical necessity review that adequate documentation exists to\nsubstantiate provision of services and payment authorization; and obtain\ninformation and documentation that is required to conduct pre-service,\nadmission and continued stay hospital reviews including determination of\naftercare planning and placement efforts.\nQuality Assurance.??Clinical\nReview Specialists within Quality Assurance assess the quality of care and\ndocumentation required to support continued client behavioral health care\ntreatment (including both mental health and substance use disorder treatment);\nmanage audits (internal, State and Federal); investigate complaints; review\nunusual occurrences; monitor compliance with regulations including, but not\nlimited to: clinical documentation to Medicaid/Medi-Cal and Medicare standards,\nHIPAA, chart reviews, utilization reviews, grievance tracking/reporting, change\nof provider requests, site certification, and provider license verification;\nrespond to provider questions about documentation standards, claiming, staff\nqualifications and other inquiries into regulations; revise and write manuals\nand procedures; work with other departments on Quality Assurance initiatives\nand special projects; and collaborate on and provide trainings to mental health\nand substance use disorder service providers on topics such as clinical\ndocumentation to Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services standards and Drug\nMedi-Cal standards. Knowledge of ASAM levels of care useful.\nChild\nand Young Adult System of Care.??Clinical Review Specialists within\nthe Child and Young Adult System of Care fulfil the role of the Qualified\nIndividual (QI). These licensed clinicians will conduct clinical assessments\nand reviews; make placement recommendations and authorizations; and provide\ncase reviews and payment authorization for children, youth, and non-minor\ndependents in child welfare and juvenile probation. These duties may extend to\nother specialty services for children, youth, and young adults as needed.\nClinical Review Specialists may participate in and facilitate Child and Family\nTeam Meetings with child welfare and juvenile probation partners, as well as\nparticipate in the Interagency Placement Review Committee teams; confirm\nmedical necessity and ensure that adequate documentation exists to substantiate\nprovision of services and payment authorization; and obtain information and\ndocumentation that is required to conduct pre and post placement reviews\nincluding determination of aftercare planning and placement efforts. They are\nexpected to work with placing agency partners, residential facilities, and\nfoster care families to consistently assess level of care, treatment and\ndisposition plans based on documentation from ACBH, Child Welfare, Juvenile\nProbation, and other system and community partners including family and\njuvenile court. These positions may also work on initiatives and special\nprojects related to child, youth, and young adult levels of care and\nout-of-home placements; and collaborate on and provide trainings to internal\nand external partners as needed.\nTHE\nIDEAL CANDIDATE\nIn addition to meeting the minimum\nqualifications and possessing the knowledge and skills below, the ideal\ncandidate will:\n\n Licensed\n and experienced clinical professionals who are adept at securing relevant\n client care data and identifying key issues and relationships in a\n behavioral health managed care setting; who understands the relationships\n among assessments, interventions, and patient responses; and who are\n skilled in conducting behavioral health assessments and utilization and\n quality assurance reviews in order to refer clients to or evaluate medical\n necessity of services within the Alameda County network of service providers.\n Professionals\n who would take personal satisfaction and pride representing the County and\n serving as part of a team directly responsible for either providing\n initial clinical screening and service referrals over the telephone in a\n fast-paced, high volume call center environment or providing quality\n assurance and utilization review of clinical resources.\n Resourceful\n and adept at seeking or collecting and synthesizing information from a\n variety of clients and sources in an objective, unbiased manner to reach a\n sound conclusion, goal, or judgment.\n Collaborative\n spirits eager to actively participate as a member of a team contributing\n successfully to the completion of goals and objectives aligned with the\n mission, vision and values of the Behavioral Health Care Services system\n of care\n Practiced\n problem solvers capable of making well supported decisions by identifying\n and understanding issues, problems, and opportunities; comparing data from\n different sources to draw conclusions; using effective approaches for\n choosing a course of action; and solving problems by taking action that is\n consistent with available facts, constraints, and probable consequences.\n Well\n organized, capable of multi-tasking and planning daily work activities,\n and establishing a course of action for self and others to ensure that\n work is completed efficiently.\n Effective\n communicators who convey information and ideas verbally and in writing in\n a manner that meets audience needs; and develops and maintains effective\n relationships with others by relating well to people with diverse\n cultures, interpersonal styles, abilities, motivations, or backgrounds\n\nFor a detailed listing of the essential\nresponsibilities and core competency requirements for this position,\nplease?click here?for the job\ndescription.\n</p> <p>MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS</p> <p>The minimum professional requirements for\nadmission to the competitive assessment process include:\n\n\nEducation: \nPossession of a Master's Degree from an accredited college or university in Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychiatric Nursing, with an emphasis in Clinical Social Work, or equivalent degree which meets requirements set by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences; \n\n\nOR\n\nA Ph.D. in clinical, counseling, or educational psychology from an accredited college or university. \n\nNOTE: Completion of an accredited registered nursing program, including three years post licensed nursing experience may be substituted for a Master's degree in nursing. \n\n\nAND\n\n\nExperience: \nThe equivalent of three years of full-time, paid post-license experience in direct behavioral health care that includes treatment and disposition planning and/or the clinical review of these direct mental health and substance use disorder services. \n\n\nLicense/Registration: \nPossession of a valid clinical license from the applicable licensing authority: California Board of Behavioral Sciences, California Board of Psychology, or California Board of Registered Nursing. \nPossession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator's license. Applicants must possess such license prior to appointment to such positions. \n\n\nSpecial Requirement: \nIn compliance with the Administrative Simplification provision of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), employees in this classification are required to possess a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number prior to their first day on the job. \n\n\nNOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination. \n\n\n</p> <p>KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS</p> <p>NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge's and abilities are related to duties listed under the "Examples of Duties" section of this specification. \n\nThe most suitably qualified candidates will\npossess the following competencies:?\n\n\nKnowledge of: \n\n• Social and behavioral aspects of mental, emotional, substance use disorder (SUD)-related disturbances and their characteristics. \n• Principles and practices of direct client service delivery. \n• Scope, activities and functions of the various behavioral health facilities and public and private community agencies providing services to mental health and substance use disorder clients. \n• Policies, procedures, and systems related to Behavioral Health Care Services, legal and regulatory requirements and limitations. \n• Applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations. \n• Computer applications related to the work. \n\n\nAbility to: \n\n• Evaluate cases and perform advanced differential diagnosis of a mental disorder. \n• Evaluate cases and perform advanced clinical risk assessment. \n• Communicate effectively and document the biopsychosocial basis for triage, referral and authorization decisions. \n• Communicate effectively selection factors related to a broad range of behavioral health care intervention modalities. \n• Organize and prioritize work, and meet critical deadlines. \n• Maintain accurate records and files. \n• Input and/or access data via system-wide network computers and personal computers. \n• Prepare clear, accurate and effective reports, correspondence and other written materials. \n• Interpret, explain and apply complex regulations, policies and procedures. \n• Effectively utilize community resources in the care of individuals with mental or substance use disorders. \n• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work. \n</p> <p>EXAMINATION COMPONENTS</p> <p>The\nexamination will consist of the following steps:\n1) A review of\ncandidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those\ncandidates who possess the minimum requirements for the classification will\nmove on to the next step in the examination process.\n2) A review of\ncandidates' Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified\napplicants. Those candidates selected as best qualified will move on to the\nnext step in the examination process.\n3) An oral\ninterview examination which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final\nexamination score. The oral interview examination may contain situational\nexercises.?\nCANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS\nEXAMINATION.\nWe reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination\ncomponents.\nAlameda County\nutilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is\ncompetitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for\nqualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine\nthe qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the\nvacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the\nneeds of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be\nexclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be\nmore broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate\njobs with comparable scopes of work.\nTo learn more about\nour recruitment and selection process, please visit the "What You Need to Know"\nsection of our website, hrs.alamedacountyca.gov.?\n</p> <p>RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PLAN</p> <p>Applicants will be\ninformed via email with reasonable notice?in advance of any examination\nprocess which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative\nand subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:\n\n \n \n \n TENTATIVE\n RECRUITMENT PLAN:\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Deadline For Filing:\n \n \n 5:00:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 14, 2026\n \n \n \n \n Review of Minimum Qualifications\n Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best\n Qualified\n \n \n April 15, 2026\n May 4-8, 2026\n \n \n \n \n Virtual Pre-recorded Civil Service Oral\n Examination:\n Virtual Oral Examination Ratings:\n Results Notification:\n Promulgation of Eligible List:\n \n \n May 13-22, 2026 \n May 26-29, 2026\n Week of June 1, 2026\n June 21, 2026\n \n \n \n \n TENTATIVE\n SELECTION PLAN:\n \n \n \n \n Departmental Hiring Interviews:\n \n \n TBD\n \n \n \n\nWE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT &\nSELECTION PLAN\nAlameda County and\nthe Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the\nexamination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with\ndisabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State\nFair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act\n(ADA) Alameda County's Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statues.\nTo request accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or\nother phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned\nHuman Resources Representative listed on the job announcement?before\nthe last date of filing.?Alameda County requires applicants to\nprovide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable\naccommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants\nmust have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and\napplicable statutes.\nFor\nmore information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please\nvisit our website,?https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/reasonable-accommodation/\n\n</p> <p>BENEFITS</p> <p>The County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall wellbeing.? These benefits include but are not limited to<em>:\nFor your Health & Well-Being\n\n Medical - HMO & PPO Plans\n Dental - HMO & PPO Plans\n Vision or Vision Reimbursement\n Share the Savings\n Basic Life Insurance\n Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)\n Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance\n County Allowance Credit\n Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance\n Short-Term Disability Insurance\n Long-Term Disability Insurance\n Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Long-Term Care, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services\n Employee Assistance Program\n\nFor your Financial Future\n\n Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)\n Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)\n\nFor your Work/Life Balance\n\n 12 paid holidays\n Floating Holidays\n Vacation and sick leave accrual\n Vacation purchase program\n Catastrophic Sick Leave\n Pet Insurance\n Commuter Benefits Program\n Guaranteed Ride Home\n Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)\n Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)\n Child Care Resources\n 1st?United Services Credit Union\n\n</em>Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.? This provides a summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.\n</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>All notices related\nto County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via\nemail. Please add @jobaps.com, @acgov.org, nonreplyalamedacountyhr@acgov.org, and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you\nmay use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program\nmay block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments.\nYou are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda\nonline application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you.\nAll email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal\nonline application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in\nyour online application account by clicking on the 'My applications'\nbutton on the Current Job Openings page.\nPlease\ntake the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a\nrecruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not\nresponsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any\napplicant for a County recruitment.\nNOTE: All notices\nare generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the\nemail boxes Noreply@jobaps.com and\nnonreplyalamedacountyhr@acgov.org, are routed to unmonitored mailboxes. If you have questions, please\ngo to our website at hrs.alamedacountyca.gov. You may also contact the\nHuman Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for\nwhich you have applied.\nNicole\nLewis-Bolton, Human Resources Analyst\nHuman Resource\nServices, County of Alameda\n(510) 272-6468 • nicole.lewis-bolton@acgov.org\nhrs.alamedacountyca.gov\nDisaster Service Worker\nAll Alameda County employees are designated\nDisaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employment with the\nCounty requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.\nEmployees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an\nemergency.?\nEqual Employment Opportunity\nAlameda County has a diverse workforce, that is\nrepresentative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal\nopportunity employer. All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence,\nperformance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in\nemployment on the basis of: race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and\ngender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation,\nmarital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee\norganization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other\nnon-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County\ncelebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming\nworkplace environment.\n</p>